Computers and computer networking have become an integral part of daily life in today's society. Most organizations rely on computer networks to enable sharing resources and information to advance the purposes of the organization. A typical computer network can include terminal endpoints (e.g., laptops, personal computers, smartphones, etc.), and network elements such as routers, switches, gateways, servers, etc.
Various security mechanisms may be employed to protect a network and its various components. An Access Control List (ACL) is a common network security mechanism used extensively in modern networks for security purposes and content aware networking. ACL allows network policies to be applied on ingress when traffic is received on an incoming interface of a network element, and on egress when traffic is transmitted on an outgoing interface of a network element. A basic level of security for accessing the network or portions of the network can be achieved by using ACL to apply policies (or ACL rules) to network traffic. As networks scale upwardly, however, more policies are typically needed, and this may be constrained by the hardware resources of the network. Accordingly, the ability to upwardly scale networks using ACL, without sacrificing network performance or security, presents a significant challenge to component manufacturers and network operators alike.